Accoutrement.



PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904.

H. R. LEMLY.

AGCOUTREMENT.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 13, 1904.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 1 NO MODEL.

Fluvzwfox PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904 H. R LEMLY.

AOOOUTREMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1904- 2 SHBETSSHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

Z. FNIIHIIIHHIIHNHI UNITED STATES Patented September 27, 1904.

HENRY ROWAN LEMLY, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

ACCOUTREMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 77O,761, dated September 27, 1904.

Application filed January 13, 1904. Serial No. 188,872. \No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY ROWAN LEMLY, captain in the United States Army, and a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Accoutrements; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in military accoutrements; and it relates more especially to means for carrying cartridges and securing ready access to same when desired, as when on the firing-line.

My invention can be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same parts are indicated by the same characters throughout the several views.

Figure 1 shows the invention complete, consisting of a belt, harness for supporting the same, and cartridge-boxes mounted on said belt. Fig. 2 is a detail showing the sliding members of the harness. Fig. 3 is a detail showing the adjustable back of the harness. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are respectively front, side, and rear elevations of the cartridge-box on a larger scale than is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 shows a section along the line 7 7' of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 8 shows a section along the line 8 8 of Figs. 4 to 6 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 9 shows a section along the line 9 9 of .the shoulders of the wearer.

Fig. 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 10 shows the two parts of the box before they are secured together.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3, A represents the belt, provided with any suitable buckle A. B and B are two straps which are doubled, as at b, and slide on each other, so as to permit the head of the wearer to be readily inserted. The parts 6 of these straps rest on These straps are connected attheir ends to a link d, carried by the strap D,which is adjustably connected by means of the buckle eto the strap E. These straps B, B, and E are connected to links O in any convenient way, as by means of the ordinary glove-fasteners b 0'. These links C are preferably made with a central rib 0 and side members 0, between which the belt is rove. The cartridge-boxes F are also rove over the belt, as will be hereinafter described. Any desired number of cartridge-boxes may be attached to the belt. I have shown only four; but in the field in time of war it will probably be desirable to have ten or more of these boxes, while in ordinary guard duty in time of peace only one or two boxes would be necessary, in which case the boxes not in use could be kept in the companys storehouse. By having the various straps E, B, and B supporting the belt readily detachable therefrom, as by unfastening the fasteners Z) and e, the

belt may be shifted around the body of the wearer, so that as soon as one cartridge-box is empty the adjacent cartridge-box may be moved to the position under the right hand of the soldier, which is the proper position for loading.

I combine with the belt and harness, as hereinbefore described, anovel cartridge-box, which is preferably adapted to contain a plurality of clips, each clip holding a plurality of cartridges. I have shown the boxes as capable of holding three clips and each clip carrying five cartridges, so that each box will hold fifteen cartridges; but the size of the boxes may be varied at will. The boxes are preferably made in trapezoidal form, tapering toward the bottom and with the top inclined downward and outward thereon, so as to shed rain falling directly on or spattering thereon from the clothing of the soldier. The boxes may be made of papier-mach, steel, aluminium, or any other suitable material; but I preferably construct them of steel having'its surface japanned or oxidized. This is not only for the neat appearance of the same and for convenience in keeping clean. but also to prevent the boxes from glittering in the sunlight. When made of papiermach, the boxes may be constructed in any convenient way; but when made of meta-l1 preferably construct them as shown in Fig. 10 and as will be hereinafter described.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 10, a single blank or plate of thin metal is cut away, as at 1, and. is so bent as to form the front face 1,

the side faces 2, and the bottom face 3, and the side faces are bent over and flanged, as at 2, and the bottom face, as at 3. Inside thesc flanges the back plate 4: is slid and is held in place rather by brazing or soldering, or it may be riveted in place. This back plate 4: is provided with a suitable device for fastening it to the belt; but I prefer to stamp aloop 5 out of the body of the plate 4, between which loop 5 and the plate 4 the belt is rove. To this plate 4 the lid 6 of the box is hinged, as at 6, and it is normally kept closed by means of a coil-spring 7 The box is provided with a plurality of partitions 8, dividing it into suitable chambers each holding a clip of cartridges. These partitions 8 are preferably cut away, as at 8, registering with the cut-away portions 1 of the front face of the box. The purpose of this cut-away portion is to enable the soldier to insert his finger beneath the lid and more conveniently grasp the cartridges. Itwill be obvious that the box may be so arranged as to carry car.- tridges singly; but it is preferable to carry the cartridges in multiples or groups known as clips of cartridges. It will be seen that the clips of cartridges may be removed from the box serz'atim from front to rear until the box is empty. Then the belt may be slid around slightly until the next cartridge-box arrives at the position most convenient for loading, and when this is empty the belt may be moved again.

On the march or when not on the firingline it will be preferable to have the fasteners b and e engaged; but when on the firing-line these fasteners should be disengaged and the belt-holder released from the harness, so that the belt may be moved around the body of the wearer in a step-by-step motion until either all of the cartridge-boxes are empty or until the firing is over. It will be seen that the harness will remain held on the shoulders of the wearer until it is desired to again attach the belt thereto. This ready accessibility of the cartridges to the soldier is .of the highest importance, since upon it frequently depend not only the life of the soldier, but the success of the attack or defense in which he is one of the factors engaged.

It will be obvious that various modifications might be made in the herein-described apparatus which could be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination with a cartridge-belt,

of straps B and B each doubled as at 6 and I sliding on the other, with means for detachably connecting the front ends of said straps to said belt, of the straps D and E adjustably connected together, means for connecting the strap D to the straps B and B, and detachable means for connecting the strap E to the belt, substantially as described.

2. A metal cartridge-box trapezoidal in vertical longitudinal section and having a springclosed lid at one of the parallel sides of the trapezoid and a securing-loop stamped out of the face of one of the non-parallel sides, substantially as described.

3. Acartridge-box composed of two parts, one part bent to form the front, bottom and sides of the body of the box, and the other part secured to the first and forming the rear of the box, with a lid hinged to the rear part, and means for attaching said rear part to the belt, substantially as described.

4. A cartridge-box composed of two parts, one part bent to form the front, bottom and sides of the body of the box, and the other part secured to the first and forming the rear of the box, with a spring-closed lid hinged to the rear part, and a loop stamped out of the rear part to engage the belt, substantially as described.

5. A cartridge-box composed of two parts, one part bent to form the front, bottom and sides of the body of the box, and the other part secured to the first and forming the rear of the box, with a spring-closed lid hinged to the rear part, and means for attaching said rear part to the belt, with vertical partitions secured in said box, substantially as described.

6. A cartridge-box composed of two parts, one part bent to form the front, bottom and sides of the body of the box, and the other part secured to the first and forming the rear of the box with a spring-closed lid hinged to the rear part, and a loop stamped out of the rear part to engage the belt with vertical partitions secured in said box, substantially as described.

7. A trapezoidal cartridge-box with its top and bottom tilting outward and downward, and provided with a plurality of vertical partitions therein, and means for securing the HENRY ROWAN LEMLY.

Witnesses:

G. A. BRERETON, FRED W. ENGLERT.

IIO 

